Sheboygan public works officials say damage to the 8th Street Bridge is "beyond repair" and will require a temporary work around and a complete replacement of equipment.

Public Works Supervisor Mike Wilmas said the car crash on Saturday night damaged an electronic system designed to provide safety and limiting measures on the bridge to ensure it raises only when nothing is blocking that portion of the bridge. The crash now causes that portion of the bridge nearest to the Indiana Street traffic circle to "fault" every time a bridge raise is initiated. That prevents the bridge from raising regardless of the circumstances.

Willmas said the city is trying to find a supplier to replace the system, but in the meantime officials are hoping they can provide an override of the safety system to raise the arms of the bridge when larger vessels come through. In that scenario, one employee would raise the bridge while one or two others would block off traffic on that end of the bridge.

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Damage to electronics, featured here, means that public works staff may have to lift the bridge manually until it can be completely replaced. This particular box was hit in a car crash on Saturday evening.(Photo: Jason Smathers/Sheboygan Press Media)

"Right now we will be manning the bridge and telling them as they pull up that the bridge is not operational," Willmas said. "I think a lot of people know about it, but I’m sure were going to still have phone calls throughout the day."

Willmas has also been giving periodic updates to the U.S. Coast Guard, as the river is a federal waterway.

While city officials are still trying to figure out how to work around the damage, police have arrested Cody M. Griffith, 22, for a hit-and-run Saturday night, according to city police logs. Based on the logs, police are recommending charges of operating without a seatbelt, operating after suspension and hit and run.